Beyond What Is Observed
by Mr.Deacon
Summary: We all know Peter Parker as our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. But there are other universes where Peter's life took a drastically different path. Endless possibilities... A collection of Peter Parker one-shots. Open to request. Chapter 1: Joker Peter.


**Hello all. This story will consist of oneshots centered around our beloved Peter Parker. Specifically, the Tom Holland variant. Freakin' love him. They can be based on prompts or requests, and feature any kind of scenario that's within my ability to write. They can be alternate universes where Peter never gets his powers, has different powers, etc.**

**This first chapter is based on a request made by my brother, in commemoration to the Joker movie that just came out. WARNING, it is fairly dark. I own absolutely nothing. That honor goes to Marvel and DC. Enjoy!**

* * *

It was supposed to be an easy mission. Peter was never supposed to get hurt. He was never supposed to change the way he did.

None of this was supposed to happen.

It had been a simple mission through New York with the Avengers, who had recently welcomed the little spider into their ranks. They had been investigating rumors of a drug ring in Hell's Kitchen, courtesy of a certain masked devil who, despite Mr. Stark's insistence, refused any offer to join the team. But it did not mean he would turn down their help.

Peter had been patrolling the docks with Captain America and White Wolf. Even though they had split up, Peter had a feeling that the two were always keeping an eye on him purely out of protective instinct. He'd been noticing a lot of that from his teammates.

Guess that came with being the youngest.

They had come across what looked like a shakedown at the pier, and watched from afar for the moment to strike.

"No one move," Cap's voice said over the comm. "We don't want this to go south..."

So they waited, and watched as a man in a black suit handed a briefcase to the leader of a group of petty thugs. However, just as the main touched the handle of the case, a loud gunshot rang out.

Peter, who'd been closer than the others, watching from atop a warehouse roof, jumped in surprise as the main in the suit dropped dead, the suitcase falling to the ground with him. His spidey sense alerted him to an unknown presence, and her turned his head swiftly just in time to see a figure standing several meters to the right, hidden by a large cluster of supply crates. The figure put the gun they'd been holding back in its holster before trying to slink away.

"We've got a third party!" the gruff voice of Bucky said over the comms. "The thugs are scattering..."

"I'll take the shooter, you guys handle the thugs!" Peter quickly said as he swung off toward where the shooter had fled.

"Spider-Man, no! Do not engage! Peter...!"

But Peter was already racing towards the target. He swung quickly through the dockyards, closing in on the figure, who was surprisingly fast, almost able to outrun the webslinger when he was airborne.

Almost.

Peter flung himself towards the figure, who grunted as he was tackled by the seventeen year old hero. The man recovered quickly, though, and kicked Peter off of him with both legs, sending him crashing into a nearby crate. Surprised by the strength of this interloper, Peter quickly jumped back into action, throwing a punch that was quickly parried, and followed up by a strike to the chest.

Peter gasped in pain as he had the wind knocked out of him, and heard a _chink_ sound and barely made out the glint of a knife.

Suddenly, a third figure entered the fray, tackling Peter's opponent before he could bring the dagger down on him. Cap had come after Peter as soon as the boy had run off alone. He pummeled the unknown shooter a few times before striking him across the face with his shield, effectively knocking him out.

Dusting off his suit, Cap stood and turned to Peter, who'd righted himself. He gulped when he saw the look his leader was giving him.

"Uh... sorry?"

"It's fine, son," Cap said with a small smirk. "Next time, though, when I give an order, I expect it to-"

"Look out!" Peter suddenly yelled and shoved Cap to the side before the knife could be brought down on him.

While Cap was thrown to the side, the blade that had initially been meant for him was brought down and slashed Peter's arm, tearing through the suit and leaving a huge scar. Peter yelped in pain and fell to his knees, gripping the bleeding wound with gritted teeth. His spider sense alerted him of another incoming strike, and he managed to avoid it despite the pain and kicked the man's legs out from under him.

Or at least he tried to. His leg impacted with those of his attacker, who merely faltered slightly but managed to keep himself upright. Lucky for Peter, a gunshot rang out and a bullet struck the man in the shoulder, causing him to stumble back with a pained grunt, and he fell onto his back.

Bucky jumped down from the crates that he'd been using as a vantage point for his shot, and walked up to Peter. Offering his hand, he helped the boy up.

"You good, kid?" he asked, parental concern showing as he stared at the bloody slash on Peter's arm.

Peter cringed beneath his mask as he flexed his bleeding arm, wincing at the pain. "I'm fine. Just a scratch..."

"That's more than just a scratch, son," Steve said. The captain was kneeling by the attacker, who had luckily passed out from the gunshot, applying handcuffs to the man. "We're getting that thing looked at the moment we get back to base."

Peter sighed, but didn't argue. He and Bucky moved over to Steve, all three staring down at the mysterious man. He appeared middle aged, with a clean shaven face, and longish black hair that went down just to his shoulders.

None recognized him.

"Any idea who he is?" Peter asked.

"No," Steve said, standing up with a frown. "I've alerted S.H.I.E.L.D., though. They'll figure him out. Now..."

He turned back to Peter. "Let's get you home, kiddo."

* * *

After they had gone back to base, Steve and Bucky kept true to their word and had Peter's wound patched up. Tony and Bruce looked it over, disinfected it, and then had it safely sewn up. They had turned the prisoner over to Coulson, but only after hours of unsuccessful interrogation. All they got out of him was that his name was Arthur Fleck. That was it. He just sat there silently, emotionless and just overall detached.

Except for when Peter was present. He would stare directly into Peter's eyes, and Peter felt chills go up his spine. He didn't know what he saw in that stare. Was it... excitement? Amusement? He couldn't tell. But Peter didn't like it, and he couldn't have been happier once Fleck was gone.

After that, Peter went to sleep in his personal quarters, located right next to Steve and Bucky's room. He had slept rather peacefully through the night, except for a few random moments where his bandaged injury itched terribly.

When he woke up for school the next morning, he had one of the worst headaches ever, and his arm was sore. Rubbing his aching head, he glanced down at his arm. His eyebrows furrowed.

The skin around the wound had become very, very pale. Now, Peter already was a pretty fair-skinned lad, but the flesh around his bandaged injury was too pale. Almost paper white.

As his concern for this strange sight flared, Peter suddenly felt this odd... tickle in his lungs.

And then he _giggled_.

He stopped as soon as he began, coughing slightly in surprise. He wasn't sure why he just did that. Sure, he laughed plenty of times. What teen didn't? But this was different. It felt forced.

After a few seconds, Peter sighed when nothing else happened and shook his head. It was probably nothing. And his arm was probably just white from how tight the bandage was. Plus, he had school to get too. There was a very important calculus exam today that he could not afford to miss, or else Tony would be upset.

* * *

The ride to school started out rather uneventful. Peter sat near the back with Ned, as opposed to Ned and his buddies who sat clear up front. The two best friends chose not to engage in conversation this time, both more preoccupied with their phones. Peter's arm continued to itch, and he rubbed at it absentmindedly the whole time. He was briefly brought out of his mini-trance when he heard a commotion up front.

Flash was trying to flirt with Betty Brant again, and Peter saw that she wasn't the least bit impressed. Whatever he said to her caused her face to go bright red with anger, and there was a loud slap throughout the bus as she smacked him hard across the face.

A smile suddenly broke out across Peter's face and he burst out laughing, and it felt _so_ good!

He stopped after about five seconds though and clapped his hand over his mouth in surprise. The whole bus had gone silent, every passenger having heard him and staring at him. He hadn't been that loud. Had he?

He shrank further into his seat when his eyes met Flash's, the jerk's face one of pure anger. But then Peter saw the red slap mark on his cheek, and he giggled, holding his hands over his mouth as he struggled to hold them in, sinking further into his seat to get away from all the stares.

"The hell was that about, man?" Ned whispered to him, confused.

"Hehe..." Peter swallowed a giggle, and shrugged. "I uh... I dunno..."

* * *

Peter had hoped that from there it would finally get simpler, but it didn't.

When he first stepped off of the bus, Flash had been waiting for him and slapped him upside the head rather harshly.

"Teach you to laugh at me, penis," he snarled, marching off.

Peter grunted, and instead of glaring at Flash, he found himself struggling not to giggle instead. He shook his head, and rushed to class as soon as possible. He had biology first, and sat next to MJ, but he could hardly focus as his lungs tickled immensely and he fought back against a horde of giggles and chuckles. A few managed to escape past his lips, and MJ frowned at him.

"What's so funny?" she whispered, glancing between him and the teacher nervously. "Peter, stop it!"

"Hehehe... I-I'm trying..." he giggled softly, ducking his head behind his book when the teacher looked back at him.

He managed to make it through class without getting reprimanded, but he couldn't help but flinch at the disproving glare the teacher directed towards him as he left.

From there, this... problem or whatever the hell it was got progressively worse. He ended up being late to gym because he had had a mini-laughing fit in the locker rooms, and had to run extra laps when he finally showed up. He ran it off easily, his superhuman strength and endurance making it easier, but he ran the whole time with a big smile on his face and giggling repeatedly.

Then when calculus finally came, he couldn't focus. His lungs tickled immensely and his arm itched like crazy. It was beginning to become almost impossible not to laugh, and Peter was downright panicking now. He felt so ashamed of himself when the time limit ran out, and he found he had only filled out less than half of the exam when it was turned in.

Ned, who had been sitting next to him, looked at him in concern as they exited. Peter had a huge grin on his face, and was letting out soft chuckles, rubbing his jaw and shaking his head.

"Dude, what the hell is up with you today? You're really starting to freak me out here," Ned asked.

"Hahaha! I don't know!" Peter said, letting off a light laugh. "I-haha! I can't help ihihit. Nothing is even funny! Hahahaha. Or, or at least it shouldn't be. Hehehehe..."

"Pete, you need to take a breath," Ned said, putting a hand on his best friend's back as they walked toward the bathroom. "Go in and get a drink alright? Try to get yourself under control."

He paused for a moment, frowning at Peter.

Peter snorted a laugh, frowning back. "Hah. W-What?"

"You're pale," Ned said. "Like... really pale. Do you feel sick?"

Peter blinked, and quickly went into the restroom, Ned trailing behind him. He stopped in front of the mirror, and to his displeasure, Ned was right. His skin had paled considerably, just like the skin around his bandage was this morning. It looked almost paper white, seeming to lack any sort of pigment whatsoever. The only part of his skin that didn't seem to turn white were his lips. They were a only a slight deeper pink, and contrasted somewhat with his skin. A smile was trying to edge itself onto his face, but he was doing his best to fight against both it and the laughter trying to bubble its way up his throat.

"Hehe... Wha... What is this?" he muttered, touching his face. His hands were white, too. He could assume that beneath his sweatshirt and jeans, the rest of him was the same.

"You look like you're sick, dude," Ned said, looking at Peter's reflection. "Thought you said you couldn't get sick with your spider powers?"

"Haha, I'm not supposed to!" he said, getting rather afraid. "That's what Dr. Banner told me. Hahahahahaha!"

Ned backed away from Peter when the boy let off a longer, and louder guffaw that echoed through the restroom. One of the stalls further down the room opened, and another student quickly rushed out, looking at Peter in slight fear as he quickly left.

Ned gulped as the student left, and then quickly shook Peter's shoulders. "Peter! Pete!"

"Hahahaah *cough* Hmph! Hahah... S-Sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me..."

"Maybe you should go home. See the Avengers about this..."

"NO!" Peter suddenly shouted, causing Ned to step back quickly. "N-No... I-I'm fine! Haha! I can deal with this. It's just a bug or whatever."

"Pete, seriously, there's something wrong-"

"Sorry! Hahaha, sorry can't hear you! Gotta get to chem class, Neddie!" Peter said with a wide smile as he walked backwards out of the restroom. "I'll smell ya later, boyo! Hahahahahahaha!"

Ned followed Peter out into the hall and watched as he marched rather goofily down the hall, giggling the whole way. Eyes wide with shock and concern, Ned didn't know what to think.

Until a thought came to him.

When did Peter start calling him _Neddie_?

* * *

Peter waltzed into chemistry rather dramatically, everyone's eyes instantly on him as he uncharacteristically marched and giggled his way to his seat. He sat down, giggling rather madly and smiling widely.

When he heard the whispers, he was brought back to reality for a moment and shook his head, ducking down with a huge blush on his face.

_What the fuck was wrong with him?_

He tried to stay quiet as Professor Cobwell entered and began explaining what they were going to do today, but midway through the lecture, his eyes lingered to Kenneth Lim, who sat in front of him. He saw that Kenneth's pants were riding down a bit, exposing the top of his butt crack.

Peter just about lost it, and a few guffaws left his mouth, and soon everyone was looking at him.

Cobwell frowned. "Mr. Parker, is this lesson amusing to you?"

"Hahaha!" He giggled, shaking his head. "Nope! Nope, nope, nope! You're doing just great, Cobby! Just noticed Kenneth's crack and cracked up myself! Hahahahaha!"

Internally, Peter froze. _The FUCK did I just say?!_

The class was quiet for five seconds as everyone stared in shock at the normally shy and quiet boy who had just said something so out of character and so embarrassingly ridiculous. Then Flash's group suddenly started laughing, and everyone else followed to, except for both Professor Cobwell and Kenneth, whose face had gone bright red and he frantically pulled his pants up.

The sound of all the laughter around him finally got to Peter, who despite all his attempts to resist, let out choking laughs that soon turned into full-on guffaws that nearly outdid all the laughter in the class combined! The uncontrollable laughter was so strong and powerful it threatened to cut off his air supply but that thought only made him want to laugh even more.

A furious pounding sound silenced everyone in the room as Cobwell slammed his workbook against his desk. Everyone shut up except for Peter, who continued to laugh until he finally registered everyone had stopped and tried holding it in. He couldn't stop a few short giggles from slipping, and looked at Cobwell in fear despite the huge smile on his face.

"Mr. Parker, I will not tolerate that kind of activity in my class! Either control yourself or you can expect a trip to Principal Morita's office."

"Hehe, y-yes sir. Sorry sir..."

Everyone looked at him like he was some kind of insane freak, Flash smugly smirking at him. Kenneth was giving him one of the dirtiest looks Peter had every seen, and it only made the urge to laugh stronger.

He managed to endure lecture and moved onto lab, but that didn't help improve his predicament. Especially since he was partnered with Kenneth.

"For god's sake, Parker, knock it off!" Kenneth growled as Peter continued to giggle.

"I-I'm sorry! Hehehehe..."

"Freak..." Kenneth muttered as he took the beakers and flasks out. He passed a few to Peter, who took them with shaky hands.

"Mix the chemicals like he said. The sooner we're done with this the better," he said irratably, Peter's earlier comment having really pissed the guy off.

"O-Okay, hehehe," Peter said, hands shaking as he prepared to pour the contents of one beaker into the other.

He froze abrubtly, however, when he noticed something about his hands. What he saw made his stomach flip with fear.

"Parker? Parker!" Kenneth snapped. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Peter didn't hear him. He was focused on his fingernails. His fingernails, which had begun changing into a deep, jet black. They looked as though they'd been painted that way, but Peter knew for certain that he never put on nail polish today. He'd never worn nail polish in his life! And as he looked closer, he saw they were actively getting darker.

The entire class jumped and looked towards the back table as the sound of glass shattering filled the room, followed by loud, maniacal sounding laughter that bounced loudly throughout the room. Kenneth had backed away from Peter with wide, alarmed eyes as the boy began cackling madly while staring at his hands with a horrified look in his eyes.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! M-MY NAILS! WHAAHAHAHAT THE FUHUHUHUK?!" he screamed, panicked despite his laughter. "AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Professor!" Kenneth called out, terrified.

Peter barely registered Professor Cobwell coming up behind him until he felt the man put a forceful hand on his shoulder.

"Mr. Parker that's enough of this nonsense! I want you to walk straight down to-"

He was cut off as Peter, in his panicked state, reflexively shot his arm out and shoved Cobwell away from him. His superhuman strength sent the man crashing into the wall, causing everyone to stare in shock and fear.

"Jesus Christ, Parker's lost it!" Flash said over the laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Peter laughed, tears beginning to spill from his eyes as he fought to keep it under control. This was all too much. The stares, the laughter, his skin, _his nails! _He had to get out of here!

Still laughing loudly, Peter rushed out of the room, ignoring the multitude of students who were already in the hall are drawn out of the classrooms to the sound of his insane laughter.

He kept running until he was out the front door and into the open air. From there, he kept going, not really sure or caring where he was going until he was as far from the school as possible.

He made his way to a nearby alleyway, hiding behind a dumpster. He pulled at his hair frantically as he tried to suppress his laughter, and pulled away to stare at his hands. Frantically, he pulled off his jacket, and stared at his equally pale arms.

His eyes fell on his bandaged wound, and all came together.

"You!" he exclaimed to no one, smiling widely as he kept laughing. "HAHAHA! You did this! What did you do to me?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Peter?! Peter!" a familiar and welcome voice suddenly exclaimed, and Peter was barely aware of the footsteps as he lay in fetal position in the alleyway, laughing uncontrollably.

Bucky kneeled down next to the youngest Avenger, eyes wide in horror as he looked Peter over. "My God... Peter, Pete!"

He shook Peter frantically, and weakly, Peter's attention turned to him. His teary eyes blinked, and he giggled.

"B-Buckeheheheheee! He-Hehehehelp! HahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Peter's speech dissolved into full blown laughter again and this time he couldn't stop. Bucky quickly spoke into his com.

"Guys, I found him, but there's something wrong. We got to get him back to base now!"

* * *

"AHAHAHAHA! AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *gasp* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAHH!"

The cackles echoed loudly through the Avengers headquarters as the Avengers who were currently stationed there all ran frantically to the source of the sound. The source being the youngest member of their team as he was held down on a surgical table in the med lab by Captain America and the White Wolf. The boy had been stripped down to his boxers, showing that the entirety of his body had gone pale, paper white. His nails, both on his fingers and toes, had turned jet black, contrasting greatly with his white flesh. His lips had begun to darken more to the color of blood, and were pulled into a large, demented looking smile.

Despite that and the torrent of laughter erupting from his mouth, his eyes conveyed pure fear and panic, and he struggled violently against his fellow Avengers, kicking and thrashing beneath them.

Stark and Bruce quickly entered the lab. Both stopped in the doorway as they got their first good look at Peter, shocked and horrified by the site.

"Oh my God..." Bruce.

"What the fuck?!" Tony.

"Banner, do something!" Steve yelled over Peter's laughter. The boy was stronger than he looked.

"Yeah, yeah okay!" Bruce said, quickly moving into action. He rushed over to a nearby table, and grabbed a syringe and filled it with a special tranquilizer that they had available in case any of the stronger Avengers, like Peter and the super soldiers, every got violent.

While he was doing this, Tony moved over to the table to help Steve and Bucky hold the boy down.

"Kid, kid relax!" he yelled over Peter's cackling. "Please, you need to control yourself!"

"I'M TRYING FOR GOD'S SAHAHAKE! HAHAHAHA!" Peter screamed frantically, eyes teary as he collapsed back into hysterical laughter.

"Banner, do it!"

"I'm coming!"

He carefully moved towards Peter with the needle, preparing to inject it into Peter's neck, but the moment the boy saw the needle he panicked. He managed to free his arm from Bucky's grip and slapped the needle out of Bruce's hand. It hti the ground but didn't break, instead rolling away.

"Damn it!" Bruce said, quickly going after it and picking it up. "Hold him down!"

"We're trying!" Steve shouted back.

Meanwhile, Bucky grabbed Peter's arm and held it back down. He looked into the boy's eyes, putting his free hand on his cheek.

"Pete. Kroshka, look at me," he whispered so that only Peter could here. "Peter, easy. Just calm down, buddy..."

The sound of Bucky's soothing voice got Peter to calm down only slightly, his cackling lessening down to rapid chuckles. His eyes were full of fear and tears, and the smile that was too big for his face twitched madly as he fought to suppress it to no avail.

"B-Bucky?" he muttered, scared beyond measure. "Hehehehe. Bucky, I'm scared..."

"It'll be okay, Pete. I'm here, Steve's here. Everyone's here. You're gonna be just fine."

"Bucky... Hehehehehe!" Peter lost focus for a moment and quickly delved back into his maniacal laughter. "BUCKY! HAHAHAHAHA! DADDY, DADDY, DADDY! AAAAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Yes, it's daddy. But please. Please, Peter!" Bucky tried to calm Peter down but it wasn't working this time. "Damn it, Banner, _put it in!_"

"I got it!" Bruce said as he rushed back up and quickly and carefully inserted the needle into the side of Peter's neck.

Peter let out a gasp through his laughter, blinking and flinching in pain.

"HAHAHHAHAHA! *gasp, wheeze* HAHAHAHA! Hah... Hahahahaahahaha..." his laughter got softer and his eyes got heavier as exhaustion suddenly overcame him. His smile dimmed down, reduced to only a small grin, and he panted deeply, letting out a few breathy giggles.

Everyone in the room breathed collective sighs of reliefs as Peter finally began to fall asleep. Bucky and Steve in particular were looking down at the boy with great concern, Bucky managing a strained smile as he ran the fingers of his sole organic arm through Peter's hair.

"That's it, kroshka. Easy. Shhhh..."

"B-Buck-Dad..." Peter said through shaky giggles, eyes slowly closing.

"I'm here, kroshka. Steve and I are both here..."

The last thing Peter saw before he passed out was the caring and concerned faces of his two guardians.

* * *

The Avengers had moved Peter to a padded room where he was strapped down to a table, just as a precaution in case he woke up and started laughing again.

Everyone was unnerved as they watched the sleeping boy through a window from an adjoining laboratory. Bucky stood closest to the glass, hand resting on it as he looked at the boy on the other side with a pained expression. He flinched when he felt a strong, but gentle hand touch his shoulder, and turned to look at Steve. He rested his own hand on his in a mild show of affection.

Meanwhile, Tony was watching Peter with a hand to his chin, a disturbed look in his eyes.

"Okay," he said, breaking the silence. "I'm officially freaked out here. Will someone please explain to me while underoos suddenly went batshit crazy and turned into... into _fucking_ Pennywise?!"

"That knife wound," Bruce said as he read over the results of Peter's blood test. What he saw shook him to his core. "I don't know how the hell we missed this. There was some kind of mutagen coating the knife, and it's spread through his entire system."

"What kind of mutagen?" Bucky asked rather fiercely.

"I have no idea," Bruce said shaking his head. "I can identify a mixture MDMA, nitrous oxide, and mild methamphetamine. But the rest of it is of a chemical compound I've never seen before."

"Well, it's pretty obvious what it does," Steve growled, watching his adopted son.

Even though he was unconscious, his lips were still pulled back into a slight grin. As he looked closer, he felt like his heart dropped a weight in his stomach as his attention settled on the boy's brown hair, which were beginning to turn red at the roots.

"His DNA is in the process of being... rewritten, for lack of better term. Whatever else was in that mixture is changing him at the genetic level. And fast. Faster than anything I've ever seen."

"And... all of that laughing?" Steve asked wearily.

"An effect of whatever this is seems to be aggressively stimulating the laughter functions of the brain in a way that makes the urge to laugh unnaturally strong. It seems like this is also heavily influenced by his state of mind. Meaning, fear and stress aren't exactly beneficial to his current state."

"Well, how do we stop it?!" Bucky snapped, evidently afraid. "He nearly went insane when he was awake!"

"We're working on it!" Tony said back rather hotly, and sighed. He looked over at the Vision, who was standing in the back of the room silently, watching the scene emotionlessly. "What's the word on that Fleck guy? Can we bring him in?"

"No," the android said solemnly. "He is dead."

Everyone was silent.

"_What?_" Bucky said dangerously.

"Coulson reported finding him dead in his cell not even an hour ago. A concealed cyanide pill. They're still working at finding out how he got it passed them."

"BLYAD!" Bucky roared, punching the wall, leaving an impression.

"Bucky!" Steve said, but didn't have the heart to do anything else to reprimand him. Fleck had been the one to do this to Peter, and now their only chance of figuring out what exactly he did and how it could be reversed was gone.

"We'll figure out a way to fix this," Tony said confidently, despite the gravity of the situation. "In the meantime, we've got him drugged up. When he wakes up he'll be as high as the sky. Hopefully, seeing the two of you will calm him down some."

"Thank you, Tony," Steve said gratefully, before joining Bucky back at the window as they continue to observe their adopted son in silence.

* * *

Peter's vision was cloudy as he slowly started to come to, groaning as he felt as if the room he was in was swaying slightly. A blinding light glowed brightly above him, forcing him to blink rapidly to get adjusted.

"Ugh... wha...?" as he blinked himself awake, he looked around and saw he was back in the med lab. He tried to move, but found he couldn't. It took him a few seconds to realize he was strapped down, and clad in just a medical gown.

The sight of this caused panic to flare, and that familiar tickle in his lungs came back.

"Hahahaha! D-Dad!" he called out in panic as he began to laugh once more, shaking and fighting against his bonds frantically. "DAD! HAHAHAHAHA! _DADDY!_"

"I'm here!" Bucky said, suddenly appearing at the boy's side and putting a hand on his chest, gently easing him back into the bed. "I'm here, kroshka. It's okay."

"I'm here, too, son," Steve said, appearing on Peter's other side, giving the boy one of those good natured grins that made him feel safe whenever he had nightmares of his aunt and uncle's deaths.

Peter's chest slowed in its movements as he calmed down, his forced smile shrinking again and his laughter easing down back to giggles.

"Hehe. Dad. Pops, hehehe," he giggles softly, leaning into their touch as best as he could. He looked around. "W-What happened? Was... did I actually...?"

"It all really happened Peter," Steve said slowly, grimacing. "You were going berserk, we had to keep you sedated while we tried to figure this out."

"Hehehe. H-How long...?"

"It's been five days, kotenok," Bucky said as he ran his fingers through his adopted son's hair. "You woke up a few times, but it was always in a panic unless Steve and I were there with you. So we've been waiting here with you until the meds wore off."

"Hehe. I-I guess that explains why I'm restrained," Peter said, giggling. His eyes roamed down to his arm, where his cut was wrapped in a different bandage. Memories of that fight with Fleck came flooding back.

"That guy. W-What did he do to me?"

"You were poisoned, Pete. Whatever it was changed you. Bruce said it altered you right down to your DNA."

"Oh," Peter said, overwhelmed and more than a little afraid. He looked at his bound hands, seeing his black nails, and then down at his feet, wiggling his toes. The black toenails glinted in the light, and he gulped.

"M-Mirror... Can... Haha, can I see a mirror?"

Bucky's face grew hard and Steve looked worried.

"Pete..."

"_Please_," Peter said rather desperately, and suddenly dissolved into a fit of giggles. "Hehehehehe! Heh, please. I... I need to see."

Both super soldiers were silent for several minutes, before Bucky sighed and nodded at Steve. Very reluctantly, Steve reached over to a nearby table and grabbed a small mirror. After a moment's hesitation, he held it in front of Peter's face.

And Peter felt his whole world crumble.

The smiling boy in the reflection looked almost nothing like his normal self. His skin had turned a ghastly pale white and his lips had darkened to the color of blood. And then there was his hair... holy shit his hair! His normally brown and neatly combed hair had become wild and unruly, seeming to stick out in multiple directions, and had become a bright, vibrant cherry red.

"Hehehehehe!" Peter began to giggle again as tracks of tears spilled from his eyes. "I-I look like, like... like a _clown_! Hahaha! I'm a freak!"

"_No._ No you're not a freak," Bucky said fiercely to the boy. "No, you are not a freak. You're just different now. You're just different now, and there's nothing wrong with that."

"He's right, Pete," Steve said, offering a small smile. "You're still our son and we love you, no matter how you look."

That made a sob pass through Peter's tearful giggling, heart swelling with happiness at the affection from his two adopted fathers. But then something that they said resonated with him, and he paused, lips twitching as he fought his grin.

"W-Wait," he said, looking between the two of them with a frown. "T-This isn't permanent right? Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner'll find a way to fix it won't they?"

Both men froze and paled considerably, looking between each other than back at Peter as they struggled on what to say next.

Their silence didn't help Peter's growing anxiety. "G-Guys?"

"Peter..." Bucky said softly. "Leanbh..."

"Pete, Tony and Bruce have been working endlessly ever since we brought you in, but..." Steve started to explain but paused, a pained expression on his face.

"But...?"

"Son, there's no way to fix this. This change... it's irreversible."

Peter was silent, staring at the captain in horrified disbelief. He looked over at Bucky, desperate for some kind of denial, but the White Wolf looked away in shame.

Peter's head leaned forward, and tears once again began spilling from his eyes as he broke out into sorrowful sobs.

"Oh, Pete..." Bucky said, wrapping the boy in a hug that Steve quickly joined in. Peter melted into it for a moment, before he started shaking.

He pulled violently on his restraints, and with his strength, ripped himself free.

"Peter, don't!" Steve said, trying to grab Peter.

But the boy pushed him away and stumbled off of the table, walking clumsily to the far end of the room. Slowly, his sobs dissolved, and were replaced by light giggles.

"He... hehe... hahahahaha! _Hahahahahahaha_..."

Those giggles soon became chuckles, and Bucky and Steve could only watch as their adopted slowly looked up at them, a wide smile and crazed look in his eyes as he gripped at his hair started laughing again, louder and louder until it was full blown cackling.

"**_HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_**"

It echoed throughout the complex, and showed no sign of stopping anytime soon.

* * *

News of the Abomination's escape were all over the television, and the sirens of his latest rampage through New York could be heard even from the Avengers compound. The team were immediately suiting up, meeting in the hangar where the Quinjet's were waiting.

"Roll call," Tony said, donning his latest Iron Man suit. "Cap?"

"Present."

"Romanoff?"

"Hm."

"Vision?"

"Present as always, sir."

"Wanda?"

"Ready and able."

"Wolf?"

"Ready," Bucky said stoically, readying his rifle.

"Nebula?"

The Luphomoid grunted in affirmation.

"Spid-Err... Pete?"

"Hehehe! Ready to have some fun, boss man!"

In the last five months, much had changed. It had taken some time, therapy, and consoling, but Peter had learned to adapt to his new appearance. However, it had also called for a change of identity.

Bucky, rifle slung over his shoulder, walked over to the youngest Avenger, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you sure you want to do this, buddy?"

"Positive, daddy-o! Hahahaha!" the boy chuckled with a huge, facesplitting smile. He cracked his knuckles and flipped his hair, grown longer and styled into a quif. His ears were now pierced, and he donned an outfit consisting of a purple tank top that showed off his muscular white arms. The front of the shirt had a picture of a smiley face on it. Besides that, he wore a pair of dark skinny jeans, matching combat boots, and a pair of black fingerless gloves.

"Old Blonsky'll be expecting your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man," Peter remarked. "Wait until he meets the new and improved _Joker! _Hahahahahaha!"

* * *

**AN: And there you have it. The first chapter in what could potentially be a series of oneshots centered around our beloved Peteypie. As you've all probably figured out, I ship Steve and Bucky so bad. And adore the idea of them being surrogate fathers to Peter.**

**I am open to any kinds of requests, and I may even right a few continuation chapters in the future if I ever feel like it. Thank you for reading and reviewing.**


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